Voters felt the following were
the "Best ways to improve the public library" in the 1994 Binder Statewide
California Voter Survey:

WAYS TO
IMPROVE PUBLIC LIBRARY

More
HoursMore Books And
MaterialsGive Them More
MoneyHire More
StaffImprove
Building/FacilityComputerize/Improve Technology

28%

12%

8%

3%

3%

3%

Hours

State-wide, "more library hours" was
given as the single most important way to improve the public library by
California voters.

This reflects the publicís desire to have library
facilities more accessible more often

It should also be noted that the
survey was performed during a time when many libraries were having to cut back
on library hours due to the recession and budgetary cutbacks.

Books & Library
Materials

State-wide California voters felt that
the second best way to improve the library was to provide more books and library
materials. This result is typical in many library surveys.

More
Money

State-wide people felt that giving libraries
"more money" was the third most important way in which libraries could be
improved.

Staff

The Institute for the Future
discovered that Californian's consider librarians to be a key public resource

Librarians are Considered a Key Public
Library Resource

Technology &
Facilities

Technology and library facilities were
also important issues to the electorate.

LIBRARY USE

Surveys have shown that the use
of public libraries is increasing nationally as well as the number of visits per
year.

An Increase in Library
Use

NATIONAL

A 1978 Gallup survey showed that
51% of the public "Visited the public library in the past year."

The
1990 Harris poll indicated that 66% of the public "Used the services of the
public library in the past year."

CALIFORNIA

In the 1994 Binder Statewide
California Voter Survey, 77% of the respondents reported having visited the
library in the previous 12 months.

In the 1996 Institute for the Future
Survey, 81% said they visited the library at least once in the previous year.

An Increase in Degree of
Use

NATIONAL

As
the following figure shows, heavy and moderate use is on the increase as
well:

Source: Using the
Public Library in the Computer Age

Regular & Heavy Library
Users

CALIFORNIA

As the following two bar charts
show, a high percentage of Californians are regular public library users and
heavy users are young, educated and affluent:

Public Library Use by
Californians

Heavy Library Users

Library Use
Equals Support at the Polls

CALIFORNIA

The 1994 Statewide Binder
Survey found that "The more people use the library, the higher they rate its
performance."

Generally, the more
people use the library, the more they will support it at the
polls.

Since library use is on the increase,
this improves the chances for success of library ballot measures.

Obviously, library users are a prime target group for most library
campaigns.

Socioeconomic & Political
Correlate

(95% Confidence Level):

CALIFORNIA

The Cain study found that in
California the following categories of people tend to support library issues:

Supportive of library
measures:

College graduates

Wealthier populations

Democrats

African Americans

Asian
Americans

The data did not support the premises that either women,
senior citizens or younger populations were more supportive of library measures
(at a 95% confidence level)

Age as a Determinant of Library
Use

CALIFORNIA

The following figure from the
1996 Institute for the Future survey demonstrates that library use generally
decreases with age:

Age of Library
Users

Source: Field Research, California State
Library Survey, 1995

Since there is a very
strong correlation between use of the library and political support at the
polls, this also means that older citizens tend not to support library issues as
strongly as younger members of the electorate.

This is somewhat of a problem for public libraries
since senior citizens tend to vote more consistently than younger citizens and
their numbers are increasing in California.

Where there is a high percentage of seniors, the
library needs to identify issues which are important to seniors and address them
positively, for example:

Volunteer activities like literacy
tutoring or a "Grandparents & Books" program

The following poster demonstrates an
effective method of targeting senior citizens (as well as families with
children) through the use of campaign literature.

The following figures from the
1990 Louis Harris Poll show that library use increases with both increased
educational and income levels:

Library Use and
Education

(Have used library in past year)

Library Use and
Income

(Have used library in past year)

NATIONAL

The 1990 Louis Harris Poll shows
that nationally suburban and urban library use is higher than rural library use:

Have Used
Library

Rest of Metro
Area (Suburban)

7.1
%

Central City
(Urban)

64%

Outside Metro
Area (Rural)

58%

CALIFORNIA

In California, the Institute
for the Future survey demonstrates that library use is highest in large coastal
communities:

Public Library Use By Geographic
Location

Source: Field Research, California State
Library Survey, 1995

SPENDING LEVELS
FOR PUBLIC LIBRARIES

CALIFORNIA

In the 1994 Binder Statewide
California Voter Survey, 59% of respondents felt that state and local
governments spends too little on public libraries.

When told the average
annual per capita spending on libraries is $20,

50% felt that the amount should be higher,

20% thought it
should remain at $20,

Only 5% felt that the amount should be less than
$20

The remainder did not answer the question.

The
average amount suggested by respondents was $44 per person per year.

Tax
Thresholds

The following figure shows the support
level in California for specific dollar amounts per year:

Support for a Local Tax Specifically for Public Library
Services

%
Supporting

Cumulative
%

$50 per year

44.8

44.8

$40 per year

3.7

48.5

$30 per year

8.3

56.8

$20 per year

8.9

65.7

Less than $20 per year

6.8

72.5

$20 per year is a significant break point given the 2/3's super-majority
requirement.

WILLINGNESS TO
PAY MORE FOR LIBRARIES

CALIFORNIA

On average, 69% of Californians are willing to pay more than the
state-wide average for public library service.

The figure below from the 1996 Institute for the Future
survey shows the percentage of people who are willing to pay more for the public
libraries based on their income level.

Willingness to
Pay

Source Field Research california state
Library survey 1995

Clearly, those making
less than $20,000 a year are less likely to be willing to pay more for public
library service.

The
willingness to pay more increases by small increments until it reaches 80% for
those making over $75,000.

CONCLUSION

It is obvious that there is
much to be gained from analyzing recently collected data on library ballot
measures both at the state and national level. There is definitely a trend, at
least in California, toward placing more library measures on the ballot to allow
the electorate to decide on public library funding. If California is a bell
weather state as some suggest, this fact may portend a national trend for
libraries. Public library ballot measures generally obtain an approval rate of
over 60%, but the degree of success is highly dependent upon the percentage of
"Yes" votes needed for passage. In those states with only a simple
majority vote requirement, the success rate is generally fairly high (nationally
the reported success rate for library campaigns is approximately 80%), however,
in those states where a super-majority is required for passage, such as in
California, the success rate drops off steeply.

In California, city-wide
library measures appear to have a considerably better chance of success than
county-wide measures. Further, the chance of success for a library issue appears
to be closely tied to how well the community has supported other public service
measures in the past such as those for schools, police and fire services.
Obviously, library campaign planners should be very interested in the overall
and individual precinct results for previously held elections involving public
service measures. Probably the single most dramatic finding of the Cain study is
that the use of professional campaign consultants dramatically improves the
chances of success for a library measure, as does the use of more sophisticated
campaign tactics such as polling, targeting, telephone and door-to-door
canvassing and GOTV techniques. It appears that the library's past performance
record is one of the most important criteria for success or failure, and that
campaign messages addressing literacy, new technologies and the positive impact
of libraries on children are also important to success. The issues of increased
taxation, poor timing of the vote, negative economic climate and significant
organized opposition are all factors which strongly increase the chance of
failure for a library measure.

Public library use is on the increase
both nationally and in California. Library use by the electorate is important,
since the more people use the library, the more they will support it at the
polls. Voters who are better educated, wealthier and Democrats tend to use the
library more often and generally tend to support library measures more
frequently. A majority of the electorate in California felt that local
governments spend too little on public libraries, but a significant break point
for the 2/3's super-majority requirement is around $20 per year. Most California
voters are willing to spend more for public libraries, but they frequently want
safeguards to insure that the increased taxation will go exclusively to the
library, and not supplant existing funding. One popular concept with voters is
the idea of "set-aside" funding for libraries. This means the approval of either
a special tax which will generate a revenue stream that is dedicated to the
library, or a specific percentage of general fund revenues dedicated for public
library use only which can not be reduced or diverted by elected officials to
other purposes.

It is obvious from the data, that there is a lot to
learn about public library ballot measures, their successes and failures, and it
is even more obvious that without a continued and comprehensive data collection
effort along with prudent analysis, many communities will not benefit from
improved public library service because they will not be able to avail
themselves of the benefits derived from an adequate and stable funding source
for their libraries.